Despite much of the world relaxing their coronavirus precautions and vaccine requirements, the Biden Administration has done no such thing.
In fact, instead of dropping the vaccine mandate for travelers entering the United States once the public health emergency ends on May 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that the policy will be updated instead.
According to the CDC website, the updated policy will allow for travelers to enter the country as long as they have received at least one vaccine dose on or after August 16, which is when the bivalent shot began, which they claim is “more protective.”
The CDC wrote, “Noncitizens who are nonimmigrants and seeking to enter the United States by air are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States from a foreign country.”
“If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you will NOT be allowed to board a flight to the United States, unless you meet the criteria for an exception under the Proclamation and CDC’s Amended Order,” the organization continued. “A booster dose is not needed to meet this requirement.”
“Because some traveler vaccine records might not specify whether recent Moderna or Pfizer doses were bivalent, CDC will consider anybody with record of a single dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine issued on or after August 16, 2022, to meet the requirements of the Amended Order to board a plane to the United States,” they said.
“This date was chosen because it represents the earliest that travelers could have received a bivalent booster,” the CDC added.
Very few countries still require travelers to have received a covid vaccine for entry.
As senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation Dr. Doug Badger said, “Neither the European Union nor Canada imposes such a requirement.”
“Vaccines reduce the risk that an infected individual will develop severe illness, but they do not prevent transmission,” the doctor added. “The administration should follow the science and rescind this policy.”
